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Definition of maintain : 1. To affirm; to support or defend by argument.
2. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed.
3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.
4. To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.
5. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.

Synonyms:

halt, manage, cite, harbour, entertain, proceed, say, hold in, harbor, introduce, bear on, oppose, have got, observe, obligate, go along, apologize, remark, fight, exercise, notice, view as, concur, abide by, defy, lay aside, put forward, stay fresh, have, take note, advance, defer, swan, fight back, note, put away, watch, make, adduce, substantiate, own, hold up, direct, waste, keep back, withstand, offer, find, take hold, curb, arrest, confirm, set by, assign, discover, hold open, nurse, produce, carry, economise, argue, lay away, avow, bind, champion, justify, give, swear, prevail, oblige, keep abreast, confine, restrain, set aside, detect, apply, celebrate, represent, nurture, honor, get, book, uphold, hold over, wield, vindicate, mention, concord, suffer, watch over, throw, honour, bear, stay with, keep an eye on, nourish, follow, plead, keep on, adjudge, hold back, fight down, report, moderate, exert, go for, insist, care for, asseverate, cache, withhold, stand by, go on, take, repair, renew, agree, set apart, provide for, allege, obtain, take for, check, carry on, respect, contain, economize, keep open, hold on, accommodate, handle, husband, keep up, neglect, fend for

harmonize, frame, set, regulate, classify, grade, program, marshal, fix, group, array, separate, normalize, systematize, sort, sift, scheme, prepare, orchestrate, adjust, rate, establish, shape, structure, balance, right, cast, organize, subordinate, screen, devise, schematize, schedule, form, mediate, stabilize, control, plot, pigeonhole, stratify, type, arrange, categorize, settle, methodize, compose, unify, plan, place, collate, design, score, rationalize, class, rank, unsnarl, order, integrate, chart

keep, reserve, save, preserve, conserve

secure, protect, shelter, shield, guard, safeguard, defend, cover

prevent, hinder, retain

deem, believe, presume, judge, conclude, assume, suppose, hold, surmise, take for granted, trust, understand, credit, give faith, gather, assent, put faith in

prolong, persevere, protract, sustain, extend, persist, continue, abide

certify, set down, attest, adjure, proclaim, accept, claim, propound, state, contend, pronounce, support, endorse, corroborate, profess, approve, declare, express, warrant, submit, acknowledge, avouch, admit, pledge, ratify, validate, assure, affirm, verify, testify, aver, promise, assert

Usage examples:

• He only wants to do his duty, and maintain his rights. - "Shirley", Charlotte Brontë.
• I always maintain that a woman has many more weapons than a man. - "By Wit of Woman", Arthur W. Marchmont.
• But the truth was, that the slaves, so retained, were kept, not to maintain the population there, but to clear new land. - "The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839)", Thomas Clarkson.